Sarah vs The Return
by Eizer
Summary: Agent Sarah Walker gets the one mission she didn't want, to return to the one person she was not ready to face again. But sometimes what we don't want, is the best thing that could happen.


**A/N** So I decided to write myself a Chuck story. It's mostly AU. It's just something I wondered, what would have happened if? And what better way to find that out than to write a fanfic.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Chuck.

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><p><strong>The Marching Orders<strong>

The light was dimly lit in Langston Graham's office. It was just the way he liked it, even when there were agents there in the night time like this. He thought it added a certain atmosphere to the room. Something mysterious, like this was the place you didn't want to be. It added to his authority, just like his huge oak desk. He had admired a similar desk in his dad's office when he had become a manager. Now that he was director of the CIA he had tried to emulate some of that.

And so everything in the room had its purpose, the many books were there to enforce a feeling of superiority, just as the ever so slightly squeaking chair that was known as Graham's purgatory. No agent wanted to sit on it, and just as the agent that was sitting on it now, they all became less prideful and more willing to follow him if they sat there. It quite literally made them smaller, if only ever so slightly.

He couldn't help but smile a little when he looked upon the face that was opposite of him. He especially enjoyed the memory of recruiting her into the agency. He was sure she still hated him for it, but there was no denying her loyalty so far. It was why she was getting this assignment. There was no one else that could do this. Recent history has proven that much.

He opened one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out a huge file. Once he put it on the desk, he could see she was taken aback by how big the folder was. And too be fair, it was the biggest case file the agency had.

After he had put it on the desk he reached down again and pulled out a significantly smaller folder. He was curious to how she would respond to this one.

He slowly slid the folders over to her side.

"Your new assignment. You're leaving tonight" He said matter of factly.

She looked at the file and then back at him, before carefully opening the biggest folder. He could see the recognition in her face, which was already losing some of its color. He wasn't sure why, but darn did he enjoy seeing agents squirm.

"Is this…?" She started, as she opened the second one so fast that she almost threw it off the desk.

Now even the last bit of color was drained from her face. She looked up at him, and then back down to the folder, and then back up at him. Several times her mouth opened and closed again, while her hand ran past the chain that was around her neck. Clearly at a loss for words.

After a few minutes she spoke, with more venom than he had ever heard of her. "Is this some sort of sick joke Graham?" She spat at him.

"I've done everything you wanted, and now you want to send me back?" She seethed.

"Listen Walker." He started in a surprisingly calm yet forceful manner. "You are by far the best agent for the job. If our intel is right we need to get to the absolute bottom of this."

"I destroyed him Graham." She stated, now sounding more defeated than anything else.

"You're the only agent capable of completing this. Two agents have already failed to infiltrate, and we are in a hurry. With The Ring involved, whatever they're planning it's just a matter of time." He said.

He could see in her eyes that her resistance was broken. And he was glad for it. Not only was this a win, but he was genuinely worried about this. There was no telling what would happen if these guys were working with The Ring.

"What about back-up?" She questioned quietly.

"It's just you for now. Though if there is any indication that this is for real, there is no way we'll be able to keep the NSA out of this."

"Great" she muttered.

She looked at the file again. "There is no way this is legit Graham, I know him, he'd never work for guys like this."

"Maybe." He replied coolly, "but then again you haven't seen him for years. Who knows what has happened since"

He could see the doubt gaining control, so he knew he had to press on. "Sarah, we need to be sure. Go to him, find out if anything is going on, and we'll decide what to do next."

She contemplated his words for a second, gave a curt nod to her boss and rose to her feet. She started moving towards the door, but she didn't get very far before changing her mind. "I know he's innocent Graham." She stated with new found determination. "And I'm going to prove it."

He looked up into her eyes, and could see more fire burning in them than he had seen in years. Interesting, he mused to himself. Clearly a spy doesn't fall out of love either. Now we'll see what our deal is really worth.

"Let's hope you're right." He replied coolly, "for all of us."

X-x-x-x-x

Chuck Bartowski was finally almost back home. After a twelve hour work day he was dragging his feet back to his apartment. Past his sisters place, and the fountain that hardly ever seemed to work. But it wasn't something he relished doing, in fact he hated coming home. Because it meant coming home to an empty apartment.

Most people that looked at him thought he was a man that had everything. He was the owner of his own software company, he had great friends, and a great family. But what people never saw were moments like these. Flicking on the light switch was always like flicking on the light to the emptiness of his heart. He had everything, except for the one thing he really wanted.

More than once he would sit here in his favourite chair and wonder how his life would have looked if she had not left him. He'd wondered where they would have lived, if they would have had any kids by now, or if they would have gone to visit Paris like they had always discussed they would.

He heard a soft knock on the door.

"It's open." He called out. As he did he remembered how he used to jump up at every knock, thinking no more hoping that it would be her face that would creep around the corner. As the years passed the hope had dimmed, yet the pain he felt was still the same. Now he knew she was never coming back, but it still hurt the same.

The door opened and a familiar face appeared. "Bro, Ellie asked me to tell you we still have some dinner left over, so if you'd like you could come over."

"No thanks Awesome." He replied more tired than anything else. It were times like these that he was most annoyed by the endless bout of energy his brother-in-law had. There really was no time of day that this guy was not Awesome.

"You sure?" The blonde doctor continued just as cheerily as ever. "She made this amazing…"

"I'm sure Devon, but thanks."

"Come on Chuck, it would mean the world to Ellie. She hasn't seen you the last few days. She's kind of worried about you." He pressed on. And Chuck could see that he was worried as well. Though he was sure that was more to do with the other Bartowski than himself.

"How about dinner tomorrow? I'll make sure I'll be home at 7" He relented.

"Awesome!" Devon said, "Don't be late, your sister will probably kill you." He added as a final remark before he left the apartment.

Chuck let out a long sigh. Ever since he had quit the Buy More and had started his own company his sister had tried to look out for him. He loved her for it, but he really just wanted some alone time every now and then. And definitely not talk about the possible dates his sister had lined up for them. Not like he wanted or needed any help anyway. Just last week this one very persistent brunette had bothered him so long, that he had almost relented. Almost, because whenever he'd get close to any woman, a certain face would pop up in his head.

_I can't believe I still love her this much _he thought to himself.

He was contemplating going to bed as there was another knock on his door. Tiredly he called out again. But this time the face that was shown was slightly more hairy.

"Hey buddy" Chuck said as he stifled a yawn.

"Hey Chuck" His long time best friend started. "You won't believe what happened to me today." He continued in his enthusiasm.

Intrigued, Chuck decided to postpone his sleeping duties. Morgan's stories usually made him forget about everything, even if it was just for a little while.

X-x-x-x-x

The only noise that was filling the cab was of the blonde agent playing with her necklace. The metal was making rhythmic clinging noises as she fiddled with it. She needed something to distract her now that the cab was turning into the small private airport that was just a few miles outside of town. It was the same airport that she had used a number of times when she went on a mission. Usually she was perfectly calm when she arrived here, now she was a bundle of nerves. There was just no way this could turn out well for her.

Her stress had reached such a high level that she had hardly registered anything that had happened during the ride. She had barely registered anything the driver had said to her in the early stages of the drive there. She could barely remember that he had asked where she was going, and if she was going to visit family.

"Sort of" She had muttered. And after a few more failed attempts had decided to stay silent. And she was happy for it. She did not need any small talk. It was something that she never liked anyway, and it didn't help that her mind and emotions were all over the place. More than once had she thought that perhaps it would be best to tell Graham to shove this mission and head back home. But there was this weird sense of duty and hope that was driving her forward. She owed it to _him_ to be the one to examine the claims. If only she didn't need to see him.

"We're here" She heard the driver say. She handed him the money she owed him for the ride, and grabbed her bags. Took a few deep breaths, and walked up to the learjet that was ready and waiting for her. There really was no turning back now.

The pilot was waiting on her outside the aircraft. "Miss Walker?" He queried

She nodded silently, as she reached out her hand. Which he answered.

"Welcome. We'll be sure to get you to your destination before you know it Ma'am." He continued matter of factly.

"Great" She replied before making her way up the stairs. She walked into the plane, and settled herself into one of the seats. After securing the buckles, she gave the aircraft one last glance. _Time to face the music Walker. _She thought to herself.

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><p><strong>AN:  
><strong>So that was the first chapter of Sarah vs The Return. Like? Dislike? Feel free to let me know.


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